When they met Monday, Leavenworth school board members took the following action:

They approved a bid from Enterprise Interior for $22,464 to remodel the restrooms at the school district's c...

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In other business

When they met Monday, Leavenworth school board members took the following action:

They approved a bid from Enterprise Interior for $22,464 to remodel the restrooms at the school district's central office.

They voted down a motion requesting that the district not join the National Association of School Boards. The vote was 3-4 with only board members Loyal Torkelson, Mo Minchew and Nancy Klemp voting to not join the organization.

They voted to send two people to a KASB conference scheduled for April in San Diego. The vote was 6-1 with Torkelson voting against the motion.

When they met Monday, members of the Leavenworth Board of Education voted down a proposed residency requirement for administrators.

Board member Loyal Torkelson proposed requiring the superintendent and other administrators to live within the Leavenworth school district or the city of Leavenworth.

But the motion failed to pass. The vote was 2-5 with only Torkelson and board member Nancy Klemp voting for it.

Torkelson's proposal came after the idea of requiring at least some administrators to live in the school district was discussed by board members when they met last month. At that time, an attorney with Kansas Association of School Boards recommended against adopting such a policy.

The issue was brought back Monday for a possible vote.

Torkelson said his proposed policy would have applied only to new employees. It would not have affected current employees.

He proposed imposing the residency requirement for people applying for the positions of superintendent, associate superintendent, assistant superintendent, chief financial officer, director of curriculum, director of public relations, principals and assistant principals.

"They make important decisions," Torkelson said.

He said these administrators need to be visible to the public.

Board member Mo Minchew said he was torn on the issue. He said there are pros and cons for both sides.

Minchew said some have argued they want the best administrators the district can get. He asked whether the district would be limiting itself with the residency requirement.

He also suggested administrators could be allowed to commute to the district but still be required to attend extracurricular activities and events so people in the community would have the opportunity to see them and discuss issues with them.

Board President Mike Robinson said the board could do nothing in regard to the policy proposed by Torkelson and still require people to live in the district. He said a residency requirement can be negotiated with people as they're hired on a case by case basis.